Kathmandu, May 13

The Pashupati Area Development Trust has set up six water pots for monkeys of Bhandarkhal and its vicinity. Every year after spring, the Bagmati River loses much of its water, and monkeys at the Pashupatinath area face severe water scarcity.

The PADT set up the water pots to solve this issue at Bhandarkhal last week.

Each pot carries around 2.5 litres of water, the PADT said.

“We set up the water pots for the monkeys as a short-term solution,” Member Secretary of the trust Dr Gobinda Tandan told The Himalayan Times, “We are preparing to add 15 more pots that will carry three litres of water each.”

Dr Shah said they have chosen to set up small pots to make sure that monkeys and other small animals don’t fall in the vessel and drown.

The PADT first dug the ground to put in the pots so that they mimic a natural pond that monkeys may drink from.

While the monkeys in Bhandarkhal are now taken care of, monkeys in other areas of Pashupati will still face the severe water crisis.

PADT officials said that it was painful to watch the monkeys run around in search of water.

The PADT first dug the ground to put in pots so that they looked like a natural pond for monkeys to drink water from

The trust had instructed all construction workers in the Pashupati area to provide water to monkeys.

Receding water levels and pollution causes the scarcity every year.

Wildlife expert Dr Mukesh Kumar Chalise said that the best way to resolve the problem was to control pollution in the Bagmati River.

He also suggested the PADT to make arrangements for treatment of ailing monkeys.

More than 600 monkeys live in the Pashupati area.

Meanwhile, the PADT is planning to conduct a behavioural study of monkeys in the Pashupati area to see whether the animals are causing any harm to pilgrims.

After an interim order from the Supreme Court to control the monkey menace, the PADT is preparing to conduct the study to find out more about the monkeys of Pashupatinath area.